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THE CLYDE COAST ARTILLERY

Wilfred Ellis, ex BSM (AIG) Royal Artillery

As a Territorial infantryman in my County Regiment my future appeared to be determined when I was called up on the outbreak of World War Two. However it was not to be, for at 17 years of age I was deemed to be an ‘immature’ and as an assurance had been given that we would not be sent abroad we were shuffled around hither and thither until we found a resting place.

To this date I have seen no reference to the exploits of the ‘immatures’. It is as though we never existed but I am sure that although no doubt small in numbers we saw service right through the war and had many tales to tell.

I found myself exchanging my Duke of Wellington’s cap badge for a Royal Regiment of Artillery one and being transported to the Clyde Coast Artillery Regiment whose headquarters were at Cloch Point, by Gourock.

A small band of us gathered together and were apportioned to the various batteries. Some stayed at the Cloch, some were dropped off at Dunoon, some at Ardhallow, but we last few felt to be really out in the wilds at Toward Point Battery.

You may think that it was somewhat of a culture shock coming from a West Yorkshire industrial village to somewhat alien surroundings and people but I loved it. To look out from the battery down the Clyde estuary to the Cumbraes and Bute, with Arran in the background was pure joy and many times I would climb Toward Hill to get the whole panorama laid out before me.

Toward Battery was classed as an Examination Battery, which meant that it had the task of being ready at all times to intercept any vessels which tried to enter the river illegally and to this end an examination vessel was stationed in the estuary with orders to stop shipping before allowing entry to the port. If there were any doubts, ships would be directed to other destinations for examination or search, and the examination vessel had a link to us by Aldis lamp via the Royal Marines so that we could swiftly fire a warning round to bring any offenders to a sudden halt.

Within a year or so and after many trials and tribulations I became a Sergeant and had my own detachment, consisting of gunners to man our two 4.7 inch guns, a rangefinding crew and a searchlight crew. It was then that the powers that be decided that I could become a Clyde Watchkeeper and I had to appear before a board of naval and army officers to see if I could be trusted to bear such a responsibility.

Despite my tender years I became a watchkeeper and with my trusty detachment ready to hand I had visions of intercepting practically everything that moved, but the reality was rather more prosaic and the river steamers continued to ply their way to and from Rothesay, and the Puffer Kype to go to and from Loch Striven, but before in the fullness of time I was plucked from the battery to be a gunnery instructor I enjoyed the land of the mountain and the flood and leaped about on the heathery tussocks, starting the many hares, and just revelling in Scotland.

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